


Good Enough?

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:13:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26117788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Jack takes some mean tweets to heart.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Good Enough?

“Why the hell are you still in bed? I just went down to Rian and Zack’s room, and they want to leave to go sightseeing in about half an hour. If you want a shower, you should really get up now, so you have plenty of time,” Alex explained as he walked into the hotel room that he was sharing with Jack.   
After not getting a reply, Alex took a closer look at Jack, and noticed that he was intently staring at his phone, and was so focused that he probably didn’t even hear Alex walk in.  
“Hey, Earth to Jack, is anyone in there?” Alex asked, laughing as he put his hand between Jack’s face and his phone.  
“Yeah, um, sorry, I wasn’t paying enough attention. I’ll get up now, I guess,” Jack replied, getting up, then quickly walking past Alex to go over to the bathroom.   
Alex wasn’t sure what to think about what had just happened. He didn’t know if something was wrong, or if Jack was just tired. Since Jack’s grumpiness hadn’t gone unnoticed, Alex decided that the best thing to do would be to sit on his bed on his phone and wait for Jack to come back out, so he could ask his friend what was going on. Alex scrolled through some social media and replied to a few texts and emails while he waited for his friend to finish getting ready.   
Eventually, the bathroom door opened, and Alex looked over to see Jack walking out, looking uncomfortable. As he took a closer look at Jack, Alex could’ve sworn he saw a few tears in his friend’s eyes, which increased his concern; something was definitely wrong, and Alex couldn’t just ignore it.  
“Hey, are you doing okay, man?” Alex asked, setting his phone on the nightstand.  
“I think I’m actually going to stay here today; I don’t really feel like going out and sightseeing,” Jack mumbled, sitting down on his bed, looking down at the ground.  
“Why? Are you not feeling well or something? You’ve been excited to do tourist stuff in this city ever since we knew we were coming here,” Alex pointed out, starting to feel more concerned, since this was such weird behavior for Jack.  
“You could say that. I kind of just want to be here by myself. I don’t want to be in public, but you three should still go and have a good time,” Jack replied, his voice shaking at the end.   
“I think we both know that I can’t just leave you here, knowing you’re upset about something. What’s going on, man? You’re really not acting like yourself,” Alex tried, getting up to take a seat next to Jack on his bed. Jack looked over to Alex, and saw the worried look over his face, and knew it would be wrong to keep letting his friend feel this way over him.  
“Fine, I’ll tell you what’s wrong, but I have to warn you, it’s kind of stupid,” Jack started.  
“It won’t be stupid, I promise. No judgement here, man,” Alex assured, offering his friend a small smile.  
“Okay, well, I was on Twitter when you were out of the room, and somehow I found this super long thread that was all filled with hate towards me. I can usually just laugh this kind of shit off, but for some reason, I couldn’t this time,” Jack explained, not able to make himself look over to Alex.  
“That’s not stupid at all, man, and I’m glad you told me about this. I’m sorry it happened, but you know all of the shit they said isn’t true, right?” Alex asked back.  
“Well, that’s why it’s bothering me so much. I don’t really know if it’s true or not,” Jack stated, his voice trembling.  
“What do you mean by you don’t know if it’s true or not? You’re a great person, dude, everyone knows that,” Alex replied.  
“These fans weren’t hating on me as a person, they were saying that I’m a bad guitar player. I know that I joke about being bad, but I’ve always kind of meant it, it’s not always just been a joke. Whenever I’ve shit talked myself, I’ve always been a bit self-conscious about my abilities, but seeing those tweets made me feel like I’ve been right to think I’m bad, and that I’m really bad,” Jack explained, his voice cracking at the end.   
All of this was so trivial and ridiculous, he really didn’t want to cry over it, especially in front of Alex, so he did everything he could to hold back the tears that so desperately wanted to spill from his eyes.   
“First off, fuck the people who were tweeting in that thread. I’m not even going to call them fans, because if they really were, they wouldn’t have sent you all of that hate, that’s fucked up. Jack, you’re a great guitar player, and I know you know that. What would even make you question that? I mean in general, not the bullshit that those people said earlier,” Alex stated.  
“I mean, I mess up more out of the two of us. Hell, I think I mess up the most out of the entire band. I guess I just sometimes think that the band would be stronger without me. Whenever you play lead, you do it just fine, I don’t even know why you all have me play at all,” Jack explained, starting to feel a tear sting at his eye, before quickly blinking it away.  
“The band would be about a thousand times worse if you weren’t in it. I hardly ever play lead, because that’s your thing, man. Jack, you’re a great lead guitarist, and I know you know that, since you’re normally so confident in yourself. If you don’t mind me asking, what did those tweets say? Normally, it doesn’t take so much convincing to remind you that you’re so much more than good enough for this band,” Alex pointed out.  
“Well, the fans were basically suggesting that my guitar is hardly on, and when it is, I fuck up. I know that’s not true, but it just hurts that people would even assume something like that,” Jack replied, still not wanting to look at his friend.  
“Jack, I’ll say it again, but their really not our fans if they think saying that kind of shit to you is even remotely okay. Anyway, you know that your guitar isn’t ever really off, and that you always play everything during the shows. You may have some nights that aren’t as great as others, but that’s okay, that happens to all of us. I hate that someone would even assume any of that about you, but we both know that it’s just bullshit. I think that being so upset and bothered by this is just giving those people what they want, and you shouldn’t give them that satisfaction. It’s hard to just make yourself not care, but please know that these people don’t matter, all of the real fans love you and the band. Listen to those people, not the ones who make you feel like you’re not good enough,” Alex explained, looking over at Jack, who finally looked up at Alex.  
“Thank you for all of this, Alex, it really does mean a lot. I know that I really shouldn’t care about this shit, but it can be hard not to sometimes,” Jack replied.  
“I totally understand, we both know I’ve felt the same way you do from reading mean comments and tweets, but something that has always helped me, is knowing that we have so many fans who love us, and knowing I have the three of you. You have the same, and I’m really glad you talked to me about this, and didn’t just let it totally ruin your day,” Alex stated.  
“I’m glad I talked about it, too, because I really was ready to just sit here all day and be upset about it, so thanks for keeping me from doing that, and for always being such a great friend,” Jack said, as the two of them shared a smile.   
“No problem, I’m just glad you’re feeling better. Do you think you’re up for some sightseeing now?” Alex asked back.  
“I think so. Hey, it looks like we have to get going,” Jack stated, looking at the time on his phone.  
“Oh shit, you’re right, we do have to go meet up with the others. If you start feeling upset again, please tell me,” Alex stated.  
“I will, but I think I’ll be okay,” Jack assured.  
“I’m glad to hear that. Well, what’re we still doing here? We’ve got some sights to see!” Alex exclaimed, as the two of them got up, then rushed over to where the rest of their friends were, ready to start their exciting day.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, I'm so sorry for not posting for a while! I've found that I'm much more productive with writing during the academic year, and my semester started last week, which hopefully means more frequent fics for you guys! I wanted to post this yesterday, because my birthday was yesterday, but I'm excited to finally get it up today for you guys!! Please send in requests, I have a few ideas I'd like to write, but definitely not a lot, and I love writing your all's ideas, and posting a bunch for you guys! Also, I've been posting fics for the better part of two years now, which is insane to me, so thank you all for sticking around, it means a lot. Thanks for reading, and another fic will hopefully be up soon! Lots of love, Liv.


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